


Co-Habitation

by LadyPaigeC



Series: Tumblr Prompts [6]
Category: Doctor Who, Doctor Who & Related Fandoms, Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/M, Fluff, Meddling TARDIS, Post-Episode: s01e05 World War Three, Spoilers for Episode: s01e04 Aliens of London, Spoilers for Episode: s01e06 Dalek, Spoilers for Episode: s01e08 Father's Day, There was only one bed!
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-22
Updated: 2018-07-22
Packaged: 2019-06-14 13:26:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,721
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15389712
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LadyPaigeC/pseuds/LadyPaigeC
Summary: Did the TARDIS make a mistake in which room she gave to Rose, or did she know exactly what she was doing?





	Co-Habitation

**Author's Note:**

> This starts immediately after the events of World War Three and concludes sometime before the start of The Empty Child. I was always intrigued by Rose's nonchalant statement to Jack about the Doctor's shaving habits. Here is my answer.

“ _See you in ten seconds' time, yeah?_ ”

\--

After saying goodbye to her mother and Mickey, Rose closed the door behind her and walked up the ramp toward the time rotor. The Doctor danced around the console flipping switches, pushing buttons, and finally pulling a lever that had the engines groaning. When she could feel the stability of being in the time vortex, Rose picked up her rucksack from the jumpseat and swung it over her shoulder.

“Erm...”

The Doctor looked up at Rose. “Oh! You’ll be wantin’ a room. Remember how to get to the wardrobe?”

Rose scrunched her brow trying to replay in her mind how she’d gotten to the wardrobe room the day before. “I...I think so.”

“First left, second right, third on the left, go straight ahead, under the stairs, past the bins-”

A soft smile appeared on Rose’s face at his exuberant directions. “Yeah. I remember now.”

“Okay, well go passed the wardrobe room and take the very next hallway. All the guest rooms are there. The TARDIS’ll let you know which one’s yours.”

“Thanks!” Rose gave the Doctor a quick hug and took off down the corridor to find her room.

The Doctor called out, “Get settled and then we’ll go somewhere fun.”

Rose lifted her hand in acknowledgement and picked up her pace.

She slowed as she approached the hallway in question. It was just a long corridor devoid of any doors. Rose spun around checking to make sure she’d taken the correct turn. The Doctor said that there were guest rooms - plural. She heard a change in the humming of the TARDIS and looked back toward the barren hallway. The lights were flashing near a newly emerged door at the very end of the hall. 

She walked past the blank walls and stopped before an imposing wooden door with a design made up of interconnected circles, similar to the ones on the sticky notes that the Doctor left all over the console room. It was something that the TARDIS never translated, so Rose made a mental note to ask if this was her name in his language. Rose lifted her hand to trace the pattern, but before she could it flickered into a hologram of an intricately carved rose. 

She didn’t need to be told twice that this room was meant for her. Rose glanced down with a frown, most all the other doors she had seen thus far on the ship had some sort of knob or pull to open it. This door was completely bare. She brushed her fingers along the seam where the door hit the frame and with that first touch, the door slid open.

Rose walked into the most magnificent bedroom she’d ever seen in her life. She stood stock still at the threshold certain a mistake had been made. This couldn’t possibly be her room. Could it?

The large bed was made up with crimson and gold silks and had more pillows than would ever be needed for sleeping. The walls were a dark coral with dark wooden accents and struts running along the walls like they did throughout the rest of the ship. The ceiling was vaulted glass and the night sky could be seen beyond. _But it was just mornin'._ And if they were in the vortex would she be able to see stars? _Maybe it’s a projection?_ Another thing to ask the Doctor. She hesitantly entered, not wanting to disturb anything. It was something out of a magazine. _A bedroom for royalty, not a shop girl._ At that thought, the humming of the TARDIS sharpened and the door slid closed, causing her to jump further into the room.

Taking the TARDIS’s not so subtle hint, Rose moved toward the center of the room and put her rucksack on one of the two wingback chairs near a small fireplace. She took a moment to wander around the room. There was a built-in wardrobe as well as a chest of drawers for her clothing and a lighted mirror and vanity that would be perfect for putting on makeup. She ran her hands over the tufted stool in front of it. 

On the other side of the room was a large picture window. She made her way over and glanced out, but had trouble discerning anything due to the darkness beyond. Instantly the scene brightened to one of daytime. _That answers that question. Not real then._ A field of red grass blew in the wind, trees with silver leaves swayed, twin snow capped mountains could be seen in the distance. Artificial or not, Rose had never seen a landscape so beautiful. 

She glanced down at the desk that sat in front of the window and was surprised to see bits and bobs of mechanical parts scattered across it. She briefly wondered if the Doctor had spent any time in here when she was distracted by a change in the hum of the TARDIS. She turned her head and noticed the lights flickering on in an ensuite. _An ensuite? I’ve got my own ensuite?_

Rose bounded into the room and her jaw dropped. There was a huge glass enclosed shower with a bench and 5 spray nozzles, a bathtub so large it could almost be described as a pool, and a long marble vanity with two sinks and wall length mirror. Rose stood there for nearly two minutes simply taking it all in before she remembered that the Doctor was waiting for her.

She quickly put away her things while darting glances around the room. She was torn, she wanted to spin in circles around her new room and explore every nook and cranny, but her feet also itched to feel new alien grounds with the Doctor at her side. Her itchy feet won out and she raced from the room the moment her last belonging was stowed away. 

\------

The Doctor ran his hands down his face. His eyes felt gritty from lack of sleep. He glanced at the bed in his new bedroom, at least he assumed it was new, it had been quite some time since he’d stepped foot in this room. He rolled his eyes at the absurd amount of pillows he found there. The TARDIS could add a thousand more pillows to his bed and it still wouldn't make him want to crawl into it. Nothing could quiet the screams of his people every time he closed his eyes. And the one time he had tried to sleep since he regenerated… He sighed. This regeneration was going to have to learn to live with sleep deprivation. 

After his run-in today with a bloody dalek and almost losing Rose, he knew only nightmares waited for him. He could push it another couple of days, maybe a week, until he absolutely needed to attempt sleep. 

The Doctor went over to his closet and pulled it open. He grabbed the first jumper he came across. A cold shower and clean clothes should reinvigorate him enough to pass another lonely night of TARDIS repairs. He looked at his bed again, imagining her there. Would Rose be lonely tonight? She was showing that tosser, Adam, around the ship. He shook his head. It was none of his business what Rose got up to in her spare time. She was young and human and just oozing with hormones. Speaking of… The Doctor paused and sniffed the air. Did his room smell like Rose or was he having an olfactory hallucination? He looked down at his navy jumper and reopened to the closet. He traded the navy for a maroon jumper thinking how Rose’s gaze always seemed to linger when he was wearing the deep jewel tone. A flash of pink on the floor under his shirts caught his eye. He bent down and picked up one of Rose’s tees. _How on Gallifrey did that make it into my closet?_ At least it explained the light scent of Rose that teased his senses. 

He shook his head to clear it and headed for the ensuite. And his ensuite...why had the TARDIS decided he needed it tripled in size from his last regeneration? _What does one man need with all this space?_ The scent of Rose’s body wash hit him full force. If he didn’t know better he would think that Rose had just stepped fresh from the shower. At this rate he was gonna need a wank and a cold shower to get through the night. _What’re you playing at?_

The TARDIS resolutely ignored him.

\------

Rose slipped into her room and collapsed face first onto the bed. She clenched her fists, nails digging into her palms, and tried to stave off the tears that threatened to fall. She’d ruined everything. She’d rowed with the Doctor, gotten him eaten by a Reaper, and nearly destroyed the world. And if all that wasn't bad enough, she’d had to watch her father die to fix it all. She really was as stupid as everyone always said and wouldn’t be surprised if the Doctor asked her to pack up her things and leave. 

Hot, fat tears rolled down her cheeks. 

Rose clutched one of her pillows and sobbed. She didn't want to leave the TARDIS, it had just started to feel like home; and she didn't want to leave the Doctor either, he was...he was everything she’d...just everything. Even her dad had seen it, and he barely knew her. 

She was going to make sure the Doctor understood how truly sorry she was. She stood up to go find him, but she was fuzzy headed with exhaustion. First thing tomorrow morning, she’d find the Doctor and beg to stay if she had to.

She shed most of her clothes and slipped between the sheets clad only in her vest and knickers. She tossed and turned, trying to get comfortable. But everytime she closed her eyes, the day’s events kept replaying in her mind. After what felt like hours, she finally nodded off, but the sleep was fitful at best.

\------

 _Stupid, stupid, Doctor._ The Doctor knocked his head against the underside of the time rotor. _What was I thinking?_

He was slipping. This lack of sleep was finally getting to him, affecting his thinking and decisions. He knew better than to cross Rose’s timeline, but did he do what he knew to be right? No. If he had been thinking clearly, he would have explained to her why what she’d asked to do was incredibly dangerous. _Bloody arrogant Time Lord._ He thought that he could handle it, that she would understand the repercussions of changing the past, that her compassion wouldn’t get her in trouble, that he was more important to her than... _Idiot Time Lord._

The Doctor grunted and went back to the mess of wires in front of him. After twenty minutes, his eyes were burning. He couldn’t keep this up. It had been months since he’d regenerated and he hadn’t had one full night’s sleep. Granted he normally only needed a handful of hours a week, but he hadn’t even let himself get that much, a few minutes here and there. He pressed the heel of his palms against his eyes.

The TARDIS sent a shock along his back. “Oi! Enough o’ that!”

The TARDIS hum pitched deeper and if she had had eyes they’d be slitted dangerously. She zapped him again.

The Doctor pushed himself to his feet and rubbed his back. “Alright. Alright.” _I’ll try to get some sleep. No promises though._

The Doctor shuffled through the hallways and he paused at the turnoff to his room. He stared at his gallifreyan name adorning the door and turned away. The library door caught his eye and he thought to try for a kip on the couch. As soon as he began walking, the library door disappeared. “Not funny, put it back.”

The TARDIS hummed her disapproval and replaced the door. The Doctor walked through and found himself in his own darkened bedroom. When he went to leave, the door disappeared. The Doctor squeezed his eyes closed and leaned back against the wall. Fatigue hit him all at once and he couldn’t even find the energy to argue with the Old Girl. He began to undress and grumbled, “A little light would be nice.”

The TARDIS just chimed her amusement.

The Doctor padded over to the bed in his pants and tossed off a few of the ridiculous decorative pillows. He climbed between the sheets and laid on his back. He blinked and must have fallen asleep because in the next instant, he started awake. He tried to calm his breathing and slowly relaxed his tense muscles. A feeling of languor gradually spread through his body. He felt himself drifting off when a light snore caught his attention. He turned his head and gawked. “Rose?” He closed his eyes, certain that he was dreaming because there was no way that Rose Tyler was in his bed, and reopened them. She was still there, lips parted in sleep, hair a tangled mess. 

Her eyes fluttered slowly open and he was caught by their whiskey depths. Her brow furrowed. “Doctor?”

He lay frozen. Rose was in his room, a room no companion had ever stepped foot in let alone managed to make their way into his bed. He was hallucinating. _I've gone ‘round the bend._ It was the only explanation.

Rose clutched the sheets more tightly to her chest. “Erm, Doctor? Whatcha you doin’ in here?”

“Me? What am I doin’ here?”

“Are you...is everything okay?”

“Okay? You’re in my bed!”

Rose gasped and sat up. “Your bed? This is my bed. An’ I’d like to know what you’re doin’ in it.”

The Doctor also sat up and crossed his arms. “I think I’d know my own room after 900 years.” He looked around and noticed a vanity that hadn’t been in the room earlier. At least he didn’t think it had. He swallowed hard. _Maybe this isn’t my room._ The Doctor scrambled from the bed and headed for the door - the still missing door. He hit the wall where the door should have been. “Put it back. I’m not kidding. Put. It. Back.” He pounded on the wall, but the TARDIS remained silent.

“Doctor?” 

He heard the whisper behind him and glanced back. Rose was standing a few feet away, watching him with wide eyes. He rested his forehead against the wall. “The TARDIS took the door.”

“Yeah. Noticed. Why would she do that?”

“Haven’t been sleepin’. And she wanted...but it’s not right she trapped you in here with me.”

“Not sleeping? Why?”

The Doctor pushed off against the wall and ran his hand through his hair. “Nightmares. From the Time War. Everytime I close my eyes. I can hear...” The Doctor shuddered and Rose gently took him by the hand.

“C’mon. To bed with ya.”

“But-”

“We’ll get it sorted in the morning, yeah. We’re both exhausted and I don’t mind sharin’.” She bit her lip. “I mean, if you don’t mind.”

The Doctor nodded and released a breath he hadn’t realized he was holding. “Yeah. Okay.”

A small smile tugged at Rose’s lips and she glance down. She let out a squeak when she realized how little she was wearing and hurried over to her dresser. She opened the drawer where she normally kept her pajamas, and instead found men’s pajamas. “What?” She held up a pair of sleep bottoms.

The Doctor grabbed them and pulled them on over his pants. “Are my vests in there too?” 

Rose pulled out a black tee and handed it over. She closed the drawer and reopened it to find her pajamas back and settled up against the Doctor’s other shirts. Muttering she grabbed the top pair of shorts and put them on.

The Doctor laughed. “Looks like the TARDIS played a trick on both of us.”

“Some trick. Looks like I don’t even have a room anymore.”

“Hey.” The Doctor cupped Rose’s chin until she looked him in the eyes. “Don’t mind sharing, me.”

Rose’s breath caught in her chest. “Yeah?”

The Doctor’s eyes dropped imperceptibly to her lips and for a moment Rose thought, hoped, wished he would lean in and kiss her. Instead he gave her his daft grin, the one he hid behind, and shrugged. “Nah. I mean I hardly ever sleep anyway. Think of the room as yours, I’ll keep my things here and we can share the ensuite.”

Rose’s shoulders drooped. “Yeah. Okay, thanks.” She padded over to the bed and climbed in. 

The Doctor shifted from foot to foot before he also climbed into the bed.

The two of them lay there stiffly for several minutes, fidgeting, and trying to get comfortable. Rose rolled onto her side so she was facing the Doctor as he turned his head toward her. 

“Rose, I’m-”  
“I’m so sorr-”

The Doctor turned to his side. “What’re you sorry for?”

“Today. I didn’t mean-”

“It was my fault. I knew better and I should have explained why it was so dangerous.” 

“But I should never have said...I said terrible things to you.” Rose’s eyes filled with tears and the Doctor opened his arms to her. Rose shifted into his embrace and cried into his shoulder. 

The Doctor pressed a kiss into the crown of her head. “It’s okay, Rose. I don’t blame you.”

“But I’m so sorry.”

“I know, love. I’m sorry too.”

Rose pulled back. “So can I stay?”

“I already told you, the room’s yours.”

“No, I mean on the TARDIS. You won’t make me leave?”

“Leave? Why would I do that?”

“I just thought…”

The Doctor crushed Rose to him. “Never. You hear me, Rose Tyler, you can stay with me for as long as you want.”

Rose wrapped her arms around the Doctor and held tight. “Forever then.”

The Doctor kissed her forehead. “Forever.”

They drifted off securely in each other’s arms. 

\-----

Seven hours and twelve minutes later, the Doctor slowly blinked his eyes open. He’d forgotten what it felt like to feel well rested. He looked down at the blonde hair spread out on his chest and grinned like a fool. He could get used to this - sleeping a full night with an armful of Rose Tyler, waking to her warmth and weight on his chest. It made him almost regretful that he didn’t need to sleep every night. He’d have to stop teasing his companions about sleeping their lives away, he was definitely seeing the appeal.

He wriggled out from under Rose and kissed her on the side of the head. The Doctor was brimming with energy. There were so many places he wanted to show Rose, and no time like the present to start. _But first tea._ He knew Rose couldn’t function before her first cuppa.

He made her a mug and left it on the nightstand for her, then went into the ensuite to shave. He had just finished lathering up, when he heard the soft padding of feet behind him. He looked in the mirror and saw Rose, holding her tea, shuffling toward him. She yawned and jumped on the countertop next to his sink.

“Mornin’.”

The Doctor’s gaze traveled up her long, smooth legs and he gulped. “There’s...there’s no mornin’ on the TARDIS.”

Rose settled back against the mirror and smirked. “Mmhmm.” She took another dainty sip of her tea. “Well, thanks for the not-morning cuppa.”

The Doctor grunted in response and tried to concentrate on shaving, but all the bare skin just inches away caused his mind to wander. When Rose crossed her legs, his eyes followed the movement and he nicked himself. He let loose a string of curses causing Rose to giggle. The Doctor put on a not quite authentic pout, and Rose smiled gently at him. She reached for a flannel and pressed it against the small wound. “My poor, Doctor.”

“‘S not funny, Rose. I’m a Time Lord - the most impressive beings in the galaxy, we don't cut ourselves shaving.”

“Looks like this one does.”

The Doctor sputtered. “The Gelth don’t cut themselves shaving, and I’m way more clever than they are.”

Rose tried to smother a laugh. “Doctor, Gelth are gaseous.”

He then went on to list all the other species he’d met in his travels that he is cleverer than and yet still manage not to cut themselves shaving. He knew he was being ridiculous, but he went on and on purely for the sound of Rose’s laughter. 

When he was finished, he wiped his face and turned from side to side. “Well, what do you think?”

Rose’s eyes dropped to the smooth, freshly shaved skin. Her hand lifted and stroked along his jaw. “Perfect.”

The Doctor leaned into her touch and made a sound that was reminiscent of a large cat.

“Yer purrin’.”

The Doctor placed his hands on the counter, bracketing Rose’s hips, and leaned in toward her. “Time Lord’s don’t purr.”

“They don’t cut themselves shavin’ either.” Rose gave him a smile with a hint of tongue peaking out. He groaned and chased after it with his own.

Rose’s hands fluttered from his shoulders to the back of his head. When he pushed to deepen the kiss, Rose shifted and knocked her mug of tea over. They broke apart with a gasp. The Doctor grabbed his dirty flannel and mopped up the spilled tea. He tossed it over his shoulder and moved back in position, ready to resume kissing Rose.

“Are you gonna be this distractin’ every morning?”

She ran her hand up and down his arm. “I don’t know. Is this gonna be an every morning sort of thing?”

The Doctor backed away a little. “Yeah. I-”

“Just thought it might be a little too domestic for you is all.”

“Domestics with you...not so bad.”

She raised her eyes and he saw they were full of hope. “Yeah?”

“Just don’t tell anyone. And by anyone, I mean your mother. Don’t fancy another slap. Can still feel the last one.”

Rose giggled. “My lips are sealed.”

He pulled Rose flush against him. “Hmm? Well, that won't do at all.” 

Their mouths met and he proceeded to show her for the rest of the ‘not-morning’ why.


End file.
